A Delicate Balance

Tom and I were lucky enough to be invited to the final dress rehearsal of "A Delicate Balance" (thanks, Edward Albee and Jakob Holder!) and had fantastic seats.  Neither of us had seen the play before, though I'd read it, and seen the Joseph Cotton movie. 

We loved the play, the production-  Santo Loquasto's set, Ann Roth's costumes (though why Lindsay Duncan is wearing a dark-colored bra under her nightclothes I didn't really get).  John Lithgow, who I've seen onstage plenty of times, gives the performance of a lifetime-  he's even better than he was in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."  I can't imagine another Claire other than Lindsay Duncan.  It turns out

I've seen Clare Higgins for years-  I'd never put it together that it was the same person in such different roles.  She and Bob Balaban were great as Edna and Harry.  Martha Plimpton (of whom I've not previously been a fan) gave a nuanced performance as Julia.  So there must be kudos to Pam MacKinnon's direction.